Volume two of the two-volume set (see ISBN 0-8218-0819-2) covers the comparison theory of projection, normal states and unitary equivalence of von Newmann algebras, the trade, algebra and commutant, special representation of C*-algebras, tensor products, approximation by matrix algebras, crossed products, and direct integrals and decompositions. Originally published by Academic Press in 1986. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
This volume is the companion volume to Fundamentals of the Theory of Operator Algebras. Volume I--Elementary Theory (Graduate Studies in Mathematics series, Volume 15). The goal of the text proper is to teach the subject and lead readers to where the vast literature--in the subject specifically and in its many applications--becomes accessible. The choice of material was made from among the fundamentals of what may be called the "classical" theory of operator algebras. This volume contains the written solutions to the exercises in the Fundamentals of the Theory of Operator Algebras. Volume I--Elementary Theory.
Mathematics for infinite dimensional objects is becoming more and more important today both in theory and application. Rings of operators, renamed von Neumann algebras by J. Dixmier, were first introduced by J. von Neumann fifty years ago, 1929, in [254] with his grand aim of giving a sound founda tion to mathematical sciences of infinite nature. J. von Neumann and his collaborator F. J. Murray laid down the foundation for this new field of mathematics, operator algebras, in a series of papers, [240], [241], [242], [257] and [259], during the period of the 1930s and early in the 1940s. In the introduction to this series of investigations, they stated Their solution 1 {to the problems of understanding rings of operators) seems to be essential for the further advance of abstract operator theory in Hilbert space under several aspects. First, the formal calculus with operator-rings leads to them. Second, our attempts to generalize the theory of unitary group-representations essentially beyond their classical frame have always been blocked by the unsolved questions connected with these problems. Third, various aspects of the quantum mechanical formalism suggest strongly the elucidation of this subject. Fourth, the knowledge obtained in these investigations gives an approach to a class of abstract algebras without a finite basis, which seems to differ essentially from all types hitherto investigated. Since then there has appeared a large volume of literature, and a great deal of progress has been achieved by many mathematicians.
The first edition of this book appeared in 1981 as a direct continuation of Lectures of von Neumann Algebras (by Ş.V. Strătilă and L. Zsid ) and, until 2003, was the only comprehensive monograph on the subject. Addressing the students of mathematics and physics and researchers interested in operator algebras, noncommutative geometry and free probability, this revised edition covers the fundamentals and latest developments in the field of operator algebras. It discusses the group-measure space construction, Krieger factors, infinite tensor products of factors of type I (ITPFI factors) and construction of the type III_1 hyperfinite factor. It also studies the techniques necessary for continuous and discrete decomposition, duality theory for noncommutative groups, discrete decomposition of Connes, and Ocneanu's result on the actions of amenable groups. It contains a detailed consideration of groups of automorphisms and their spectral theory, and the theory of crossed products.
This book studies the foundations of quantum theory through its relationship to classical physics. This idea goes back to the Copenhagen Interpretation (in the original version due to Bohr and Heisenberg), which the author relates to the mathematical formalism of operator algebras originally created by von Neumann. The book therefore includes comprehensive appendices on functional analysis and C*-algebras, as well as a briefer one on logic, category theory, and topos theory. Matters of foundational as well as mathematical interest that are covered in detail include symmetry (and its "spontaneous" breaking), the measurement problem, the Kochen-Specker, Free Will, and Bell Theorems, the Kadison-Singer conjecture, quantization, indistinguishable particles, the quantum theory of large systems, and quantum logic, the latter in connection with the topos approach to quantum theory. This book is Open Access under a CC BY licence.
Infinite dimensional representation theory blossomed in the latter half of the twentieth century, developing in part with quantum mechanics and becoming one of the mainstays of modern mathematics. Fundamentals of Infinite Dimensional Representation Theory provides an accessible account of the topics in analytic group representation theory and operator algebras from which much of the subject has evolved. It presents new and old results in a coherent and natural manner and studies a number of tools useful in various areas of this diversely applied subject. From Borel spaces and selection theorems to Mackey's theory of induction, measures on homogeneous spaces, and the theory of left Hilbert algebras, the author's self-contained treatment allows readers to choose from a wide variety of topics and pursue them independently according to their needs. Beyond serving as both a general reference and as a text for those requiring a background in group-operator algebra representation theory, for careful readers, this monograph helps reveal not only the subject's utility, but also its inherent beauty.
This book presents the basic tools of modern analysis within the context of the fundamental problem of operator theory: to calculate spectra of specific operators on infinite dimensional spaces, especially operators on Hilbert spaces. The tools are diverse, and they provide the basis for more refined methods that allow one to approach problems that go well beyond the computation of spectra: the mathematical foundations of quantum physics, noncommutative K-theory, and the classification of simple C*-algebras being three areas of current research activity which require mastery of the material presented here.
From the reviews: "This book is an excellent and comprehensive survey of the theory of von Neumann algebras. It includes all the fundamental results of the subject, and is a valuable reference for both the beginner and the expert." Mathematical Reviews
An Introduction to Operator Algebras is a concise text/reference that focuses on the fundamental results in operator algebras. Results discussed include Gelfand's representation of commutative C*-algebras, the GNS construction, the spectral theorem, polar decomposition, von Neumann's double commutant theorem, Kaplansky's density theorem, the (continuous, Borel, and L8) functional calculus for normal operators, and type decomposition for von Neumann algebras. Exercises are provided after each chapter.
